Banking
Heritage Bank Agent Outlets hits 400, Opens in Badagry
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In line with the financial inclusion strategy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its determination to capture the alarming number of unbanked market women, artisans and underserved population in the country, Heritage Bank Plc has deepened its retail banking structure by launching agent banking services at the coastal town of Badagry in Lagos State.
This has brought the growing number of the lender’s agent banking base to 400 ‘Corner Shops.’
The new Badagry outlet, called Thy Grace, was unveiled over the weekend to provide a range of financial services to customers in the neighbourhood of Mowo under the Badagry Local Government.
The MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr Ifie Sekibo explained that the bank has continued to set standard in the launching of ‘Corner Shop’ to cater for the need of traders and artisans at different locations across the country.
According to him, the shop is aimed at giving the unbanked, especially in the rural areas the opportunity to enjoy financial services without the risk and stress of walking kilometres in order to visit a bank branch.
Speaking at the commissioning in Badagry, the Zonal Business Coordinator, South-West, South-South, Agent Banking, Heritage Bank, Ms Oluwakemi Adewunmi, described the feat as a major breakthrough that would relieve the people living in the Ikogazebbe community of the stress they hitherto faced in transacting banking services.
She said with the new Agent commissioned to represent Heritage Bank in the locality, banking services would no longer constitute a headache, but rather would be stress-free for all categories of bank customers.
According to her, anybody can benefit from the services of the agent whether you are a customer to Heritage Bank or another bank.
Ms Adewunmi explained that customers can open bank account, deposit cash, transfer money even to other banks and also pay bills. In view of the peculiarity of the community, she disclosed that the agent deploys mobile POS; adding that the device would make the agent make banking services available at the doorsteps of customers.
With the inclusion of Thy Grace, she said Heritage Bank now boasts of about 400 agents it has established in different parts of the country. She commended the agents for their commitment over the past two years that Heritage Bank’s campaign for financial inclusion started.
Her words: “The level of their loyalty is very high and commendable. Our agents maintain a clean record and they have been effective.”
In his remarks after receiving the Certificate of Authorisation to carry out agent banking on behalf of Heritage Bank, Mr Hunyingan Pius Mifrinso, promoter of Thy Grace, commended the bank for the approval given to him.
He assured that the services of his agency would help to bring banking services closer to the host community. Before now, Mr Mifrinso disclosed that for anybody to transact banking services, the person had to travel over a distance of 15km before getting to the nearest bank.
His words: “The Ikogazebbe community is about 15km far from Badagry and for anybody to do a small banking transaction; the person has to travel to Badagry town.” Apart from the time usually wasted in doing that, he said transportation cost a minimum of N400.
Meanwhile, Mr Mifrinso assured that with the new dispensation, the people in the neighbourhood could heave a sigh of relief as banking is now made easy. In order to effectively cover the area, he disclosed that his agency would recruit some roaming agents to comb the community for traders who might not have the time to deposit the proceeds of their sales in banks.
Agent banking is the delivery of financial services outside conventional bank branches, often using non-bank retail agents and relying on technology, such as card readers, point-of–sale (POS) terminal or mobile phones for real time transaction processing. It is an initiative to actualise the CBN’s policy on financial inclusion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), says its laws are now stronger and more effective to carry out its bank liquidation mandate.
The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by its Head of Communication and Public Affairs Department, Mrs Hawwau Gambo.
The statement quoted the NDIC chief executive, Mr Thompson Sunday, as saying the powers in liquidation of failed insured institutions had been enhanced with the enactment of the NDIC Act No. 30 of 2023.
Mr Sunday said that the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, also empowered the Corporation.
According to him, the NDIC is now better positioned to prosecute parties at fault in bank failures, unlike in the past when insufficient legal provisions allowed such individuals to evade accountability, commending the National Assembly for addressing the long-standing challenge of a weak legal framework which had constrained the corporation’s operations.
He also commended the judiciary for its growing expertise in deposit insurance law and practice, as demonstrated by the effective adjudication of failed bank cases through judgments that had brought relief to depositors.
“With stronger legal backing, individuals now approach the corporation to settle out of court, not necessarily because the law has caught up with them, but because they can see that the noose is tightening around those responsible for bank failures.
”The corporation’s ability to realise sufficient assets to declare a first round of liquidation dividends to the uninsured depositors of defunct Heritage bank Limited within one year of the revocation of its licence is due to the positive impact of the new legal framework,” Mr Sunday said.
He reiterated that the NDIC would continue to leverage the strengthened laws while collaborating with stakeholders to enhance the effective discharge of its mandate.
By Faridat Yusuf
Nigeria’s new non-interest bank, Summit Bank Limited, has started full operations, promising to give Nigerians honest, clear, and fair banking services.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) listed Summit Bank as a regional non-interest bank with its head office in Abuja. It joins other non-interest banks in Nigeria like Jaiz Bank, Taj Bank, and Lotus Bank.
The Managing Director, Mr Sirajo Salisu, during a press briefing in Abuja, said that the bank was seeking to serve Nigerians very well.
“We are live, well-regulated, fully operational, and ready to serve Nigerians with clarity, integrity, and purpose.”
He also talked about people thinking the bank was linked to a big bank, saying, “We have followed the conversations with interest and gratitude, and the curiosity we have carefully observed tells us that people care about us and about ethical finance, now is the time for clarification, as Summit Bank’s establishment and operation have gone beyond speculation,” he stated.
On his part, the bank’s Executive Director, Mr Mukhtar Adam, said, “While some of our directors have built accomplished careers at frontline financial institutions such as Zenith Bank, Summit Bank is an independent financial entity governed by a professional board and fully compliant with Central Bank of Nigeria regulations.”
He added, “Our offerings promise no hidden costs or complicated banking for both banked and unbanked Nigerians, with clear, compliant banking services backed by robust technology, sophisticated banking infrastructure, and tested human resources.”
The bank was started in July 2024 and got its CBN licence in February 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Bank of Industry (BoI) has reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to boosting Nigeria’s tech and creative sectors through strategic investments.
This comes as Nigeria, through its Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, made its first investment in a venture capital fund in Ventures Platform $64 million raise.
The iDICE program, managed by the bank and co-financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), was established to channel public and private capital into Nigeria’s digital and creative sectors.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mr Olasupo Olusi, said the investment is part of Nigeria’s drive to transform its economy through innovation in high-growth tech and creative enterprises.
“By investing in Ventures Platform’s Fund II, which serves as iDICE’s Technology Equity Fund for Nigerian startups, we are deepening the Federal Government’s objective of upscaling the Nigerian technology and creative sectors by catalyzing strategic investments in high-growth, technology-enabled enterprises and the innovation ecosystem,“ adding, Thereby contributing meaningfully to the nation’s broader economic transformation agenda, with a goal to create jobs at scale, but also empower high-growth entrepreneurs across the country.”
At its core, the iDICE programme seeks to equip Nigerians aged 15-35 with the skills to thrive in emerging digital and creative industries, to heighten their employability, spark innovation, and support entrepreneurs.
Under the iDICE programme, three broad components were established: Skills and Enterprise Development, Expanding Access to Finance, and Enabling Environment. The first pillar focuses on training youths in in-demand creative and technology skills, building a community of talent, and linking these young people either to employment or to the opportunity to launch their own ventures.
The second component which covers the investment in Ventures Platform, is Expanding Access to Finance, which addresses the persistent financing gap in Nigeria’s technology and creative sectors. The programme intends to provide equity or quasi-equity funding to startups, while also offering capacity-building support and grants to prepare enterprises for success.
Meanwhile, the Enabling Environment arm of the initiative focuses on regulatory, policy, and institutional reforms, putting in place the laws, programmes and business-environment enhancements necessary to make it easier for technology and creative firms to operate and flourish.
By combining training, funding access, and policy support within a five-year programme timeframe, the federal government aims to generate sustainable jobs, promote innovation, and create a more vibrant creative and technology sector.
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